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This week on National Geographic Weekend host Boyd Matson speaks with guests about braving the Arctic cold, finding your way outdoors with a smartphone, screening wildlife films in Africa, naked neck chickens in Transylvania, fungus that is worth its weight in gold, the fish that did not get away, doing push-ups to attract a mate, the 10 best of everything in the National Parks, and ducklings at National Geographic.

HOUR 1

• Two years ago photographer and environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland embarked on an expedition to the North Pole to commemorate the centennial of Admiral Robert E. Peary’s 1909 polar expedition. The new film, Into The Cold: A Journey of the Soul, follows Copeland and his partner, Keith Heger, on their 400-mile, two month expedition through temperatures of negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Copeland shares tips on surviving a fall through the ice into the Arctic Ocean. [Two-part interview]

• “Gear Guru” Steve Casimiro, a regular contributor to the National Geographic Adventure blog, joins Boyd to talk about the best smartphone apps for outdoor recreation. Casimiro reviewed hundreds of apps for his own blog, Adventure Journal.

• Getting along with your neighbors is difficult, especially when they are lions. National Geographic Big Cats Initiative grantee Amy Dickman is working to mitigate the conflict between lions and humans in an attempt to save the big cats of the world. Dickman joins Boyd in the studio to share some of the strategies of the “Human-Big Cat Conflict in Tanzania” project.

• National Geographic's Daily News editor David Braun shares some of the week’s hottest stories, including a giant rabbit that is hopping into view just in time for Easter.

HOUR 2

• Are you looking for a drug to keep you fit in bed, cure cancer ,and keep you forever young? A caterpillar fungus from Tibet just might be the answer. High demand for caterpillar fungus is creating a fungal gold rush in Tibet, says Daniel Winkler, a fungus expert. Winkler reports that a pound of the fungus can sell for as much as $40,000 in a Shanghai market.

• Often fishermen talk about “the fish that got away,” but Lee Crockett, director of Federal Fisheries Policy at the Pew Environment Group, discusses the plight of the fish that do not get away. Crockett explains that the bluefin tuna population and other rare species of fish are killed as bycatch because of surface longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico—a serious problem for the already endangered species.

• National Geographic Young Explorer grantee Neil Losin likes to go fishing—for lizards. Losin, an evolutionary biologist at UCLA, studies anoles (chameleon-like lizards) in Florida and catches the speedy animal with a fishing pole and a string. Neil describes his technique and explains his study on the behavior and evolution of Caribbean anoles.

• America’s National Parks offer great hiking, camping and sightseeing. But did you know they also offer first-rate lodging and great culinary delights? Bob Howells, co-author of 10 Best of Everything National Parks, joins Boyd to talk about some of the highlights from our country’s best playgrounds.

• Usually Boyd has to leave National Geographic in search of wildlife, but this week the wildlife has come to him. A mother duck and her ten ducklings have taken up residence in the National Geographic courtyard.

Listen to National Geographic Weekend

Sebastian Copeland embarked on an expedition to the North Pole to commemorate the centennial of Admiral Robert E. Peary’s 1909 polar expedition. The new film, Into The Cold: A Journey of the Soul, follows Copeland and his partner Keith Heger on their 400-mile, two month expedition through temperatures of negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Copeland shares tips on surviving a fall through the ice into the Arctic Ocean.

Steve Casimiro, a regular contributor to the National Geographic Adventure blog, joins Boyd to talk about the best smartphone apps for outdoor recreation. Casimiro reviewed hundreds of apps for his own blog, Adventure Journal.

Getting along with your neighbors is difficult, especially when they are lions. National Geographic Big Cats Initiative grantee Amy Dickman is working to mitigate the conflict between lions and humans in an attempt to save the big cats of the world. Dickman joins Boyd in the studio to share some of the strategies of the “Human-Big Cat Conflict in Tanzania” project.

Are you looking for a drug to keep you fit in bed, cure cancer and keep you forever young? A caterpillar fungus from Tibet just might be the answer. High demand for caterpillar fungus is creating a fungal gold rush in Tibet, says Daniel Winkler, a fungus expert. Winkler reports that a pound of the fungus can sell for as much as $40,000 in a Shanghai market.

Lee Crockett, director of Federal Fisheries Policy at the Pew Environment Group, discusses the plight of the fish that do not get away. Crockett explains that the bluefin tuna population and other rare species of fish are killed as bycatch because of surface longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico—a serious problem for the already endangered species.

National Geographic Young Explorer granteeNeil Losin likes to go fishing—for lizards. Losin, an evolutionary biologist at UCLA, studies anoles (chameleon-like lizards) in Florida and catches the speedy animal with a fishing pole and a string. Neil describes his technique and explains his study on the behavior and evolution of Caribbean anoles.

America’s National Parks offer great hiking, camping and sightseeing. But did you know they also offer first-rate lodging and great culinary delights? Bob Howells, co-author of “10 Best of Everything National Parks,” joins Boyd to talk about some of the highlights from our country’s best playgrounds.

Usually Boyd has to leave National Geographic in search of wildlife, but this week the wildlife has come to him. A mother duck and her ten ducklings have taken up residence in the National Geographic courtyard.